City takes most of the heat at county reg advisory meeting

Thursday

May 16, 2013 at 10:03 PM

For the fourth meeting in a row, the county's regulatory process got mostly positive reviews before an advisory committee set up by commissioners to seek out business-stifling rules. The city of Hendersonville, however, didn't fare as well.

By Nathaniel AxtellTimes-News Staff Writer

For the fourth meeting in a row, the county's regulatory process got mostly positive reviews before an advisory committee set up by commissioners to seek out business-stifling rules. The city of Hendersonville, however, didn't fare as well.Roughly half of the county's regulation review committee meeting Thursday was devoted to issues related to city rules and processes. Frustrated committee members said they wished the city was involved in their review process and urged the night's two presenters to talk with city leaders about it.Larry Rogers of Henderson County Partners for Economic Progress, which monitors government on behalf of 75 local business and property owners, said he hears quite a few complaints in his job. “But the overwhelming complaints have been about the city,” he told the committee. He said Partners for Economic Progress members have major problems with the city's “forced annexation policy in order to acquire water and sewer connections” and its “hefty increase in water tap and impact fees to hook up a new business.”Several contractors who sit on the committee echoed that sentiment. Mike Cooper, who is building Boyd Automotive's new dealership on Spartanburg Highway, said the county is “ready and willing” to issue his permits, but only after the city approves their review.“The frustrating part is you go through the review process and you get your letter about what's wrong,” Cooper said. “You fix that and then you go through another review process and the same people find things wrong with it again. And then you go through it a third time.”Committee member Jeff Justus, a commercial real estate broker, said the city “acts like you're trying to screw them over... I'm going to build this building and it's going to be nice, but there's this tone that, ‘We don't want you to develop in our city,' almost.”Committee Chairman Bert Lemkes said if there was any way the discussion about regulatory review could be “conveyed to the city, that would be great.” He and other members agreed a joint outreach by city and county officials would be more effective, since most of the complaints brought before the committee thus far have been related to the city. “If Hendersonville doesn't make it easier to develop, Buncombe County is going to eat our lunch,” Justus predicted.Rogers said complaints from his members about the county have been “hit or miss,” referencing a sign ordinance problem and “the slow speed that the process sometimes moves.” He used the example of a Dollar General store that requested rezoning last December and waited until this week to get a decision.But Rogers praised the county's Technical Review Committee as a one-stop shop for businesses and contractors to get answers. Members of the Technical Review Committee include a county engineer, planner, fire marshal, code inspector and environmental health supervisor, plus a state highway official and city utilities official.Lemkes asked John Mitchell, the county's business and community development director, to bring back a flow chart showing steps businesses must take for various county approvals, showing “bottlenecks.” He suggested perhaps putting a “maximum response time required by county staff.”Andrew Tate, president of Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development, said his staff works closely with 135 existing industries through customized, regular visits designed to troubleshoot issues. He surveyed 20 companies that had pulled permits in the last 12 to 18 months, and reported “a lot” of positive feedback.But he suggested the committee work toward creating an “ongoing outlet” for companies to share problems “without fear of retribution, and have it dealt with in a timely manner.” Tate also recommended that the county create an online, searchable code database, so companies “can do a little work on their own.” Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.